Changes A-Foot in the NFC East

[BrudLee]

If I were to ask any of you who the "game-changing" kickers in the league were, you likely wouldn't say many names before reaching David Akers of the rightly maligned Eagles. Akers missed last week's game, and most of the game before that one, and the Eagles looked not-so-coincidentally vulnerable in both.

Sportstalk 950 and Comcast CN8 (Philadelphia) are reporting that Akers' agent claims his client will be out 8-10 weeks with his hamstring tear. This is a big f'ing deal for several reasons:

1. No Akers - Todd France is, I'm sure, a nice boy, but kickers like Akers are rare.
2. The Eagles will have to keep Akers on their 53-man roster or put him on IR. If he's on the roster, that's one less player (sorry, Darnerian). If he's on IR, he ain't coming back this year.
3. If he (presumably) stays on the roster, he'll be returning from his hamstring problem in the dead of winter - just when hamstrings get a little tighter.

I have a rule of not rooting for injuries. Actually, I don't, but I wouldn't root for this one. Still, in a division race that looks a little tighter than expected, it is worth noting when the lead dog stumbles.